The main shopping street in a North Devon town will soon be closed for three months, leaving many shop owners worried about the future of their businesses.

Bideford’s Mill Street will be closed to vehicles for 12 weeks between January and March next year. The closures will affect shoppers too with the road being closed in parts making access to shops on the street difficult.

Mill Street’s block paving has, according Devon County Council, become dangerous with a number of reports of people tripping over uneven and broken paving but not everyone is happy with the plans.

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The resurfacing scheme will cost more than £314,000 and will be paid for by Devon County Council, Bideford Town Council and Torridge District Council.

Mill Street will be tarmacked with clearly marked sections for cars and pedestrians.

It is “provisionally planned” for the works on Mill Street to be carried out in three sections during the 12 week period, these being between the High Street and Cooper Street, between Cooper Street and the Baptist Church and then between the Baptist Church and Bridgeland Street.

Lindsey’s Cake and Dessert Shop owner Ben Eastman was nervous about the plans to begin with but is hopeful now, he said: “When I first heard about it all everything was up in the air and I was concerned but I do think it will be OK.

“We may lose a little trade but when it’s done I think it’ll look nice.”

Mill Street was in the news earlier this month when a suspicious package was found in a charity shop (Image: Graham Hobbs)

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In a letter sent to shop owners Devon County Council’s principal engineer Simon Hill said: “Every effort will be made by our contractor to minimise the disruption, however there will be occasions when access to your property will most likely be temporarily impeded

“The contractor will regularly liaise with you when working nearby your property so that you can be reasonably kept informed of what is happening and the likely disruption.

Steve Hiron, 59, of Hiron & Sons Family Butchers is not against the resurfacing work in principle but would like to see more done in the Mill Street area to make it more attractive to visitors, he said: “We’ve got to have a rethink of our town to make it work, especially in the Mill Street area. Out of town shopping centres are putting pressure on town centres and I’m anxious that visitors see the town in a good light.”

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Bideford mayor, Dermot McGeough, said: “What I’m trying to do is work with Devon County Council and the public. We do feel this is the best scheme for Bideford.

“The surface we’ve got here is at the end of its life and does desperately need replacing. We need to find a compromise that works for everyone.”

A spokesman for the Devon County Council said: “Because it’s a busy shopping area, we’re doing it as sensitively as we can to accommodate those businesses affected.

“It’s scheduled for up to 12 weeks, but we’re hoping it’ll be finished before then. We’re planning to do the work in short sections, so to complete a stretch completely before moving on to the next section as soon as possible.

“Access for pedestrians will be maintained throughout the whole period, so shoppers can continue to use the shops as they do now, remembering that it’s already a pedestrianised street between 10am and 4pm.

“The work will involve taking up the existing block paving and replacing it with a tarmacked surface and channel kerbs. We’ll be improving the drainage too at the same time, and we’re replacing the street furniture.

“We’re asking our contractor to make sure that local businesses are kept regularly informed in the run up and of progress during the period.”

Allhalland Street will also be resurfaced but the road will only be closed to motorists for one month.